Melissa Dunworth – Page 35 – Sew Bittersweet Designs

Preschool Quilt Unveiling

14 Comments / Charity / By Melissa Dunworth

This past weekend my father flew in from California and surprised Anne. Monday night was dad’s night at her preschool and he didn’t want her to have to go alone, since her daddy is still away with work. I swear he is the most wonderful grandpa in the world!

We spent the weekend bowling and doing “man chores” around the house. I’m not going to lie, it was pretty nice having someone here to help me for a couple days! Plus I love spending time with my daddy!

Here is Anne and her Baba (that’s what she calls him) with the preschool quilt for her class. She really had a hard time giving it up. I guess I will be buying a ticket and trying to win it for her.

Just Anne with her quilt.

They only had room to display 3 of the quits at a time. I do love how the turned out and I’m quite proud of them. I sincerely hope that this turns out to be a great fundraiser for the school. The scholarship fund needs the help!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

A Lovely Year of Finishes – February Goals

14 Comments / A Lovely Year of Finishes, Fiber of All Sorts / By Melissa Dunworth

And just like that, it’s February! Welcome to a whole new month and a whole new opportunity to finish a goal! I have a small goal. I need to hand sew a binding. I was going to select a bigger goal of quilting the top I showed you last week, but my floors are still ripped out and I’m waiting for the repair. If all does not go as planned a very simple repair will turn into ripping out all the floors in my downstairs. I figured a small goal was probably a better idea for me this month.

My beautiful niece (this makes 7 nieces and nephews for me!), was born this past Friday. The quilt is all done, it just needs to be bound. Wish me luck!

Do share, what’s your February goal?

What one item will you choose?

You have two requirements to be entered into the prizes this month.

1. Link-up {on this post} the first 7-days of the month

Please choose ONE project

and

2. Link-up in the last 7-days of the month

Only with a completed, successful project. And yes the same one that you choose earlier in the month.

Add your blog post or flickr photo (with appropriate descriptions) to the linky party below.

Please grab a button or link back to Shanna and I so other people can join in the fun!

And if you are on twitter or Instagram tag #ALYoF

**Please note, the linky party is the same here and over at Shanna , so there is no need to enter twice **

Here is a list of the lovely new and old sponsors and prizes for February:

1. 10 piece Fat Quarter Bundle of Cotton and Steel
from Gotcha Covered Quilting

2. One pdf Pattern from Clover and Violet

3. One PDF pattern from Michele of Aiming for Accuracy

4. One PDF Pattern from Meadow Mist Designs

5. One PDF pattern from Sew Sweetness

6. One PDF pattern from Honey, Bunny, and Doll Designs

7. Thimblepie’s Quilt Supplies – Custom fabric package, 3 yards plus free shipping anywhere

8. Green Fairy Quilts – 3 pdf patterns

9. $15 gift certificate from Fat Quarter Shop

10. PDF Pattern from Katy – The Littlest Thistle

11. Sew BitterSweet Designs one pdf pattern

12. PDF Pattern from Persimon Dreams

13. One Charm pack or $10.00 gift certificate to
Stitches n’ Giggles (winners choice)

~~~

Thank you to everyone for jumping on board with us for the first time or again.

Remember to click on a few other’s links and give people some love.

Just keep Stitching

Stacked Pyramids Quilt

15 Comments / Craftsy, Do.Good Stitches, Sew BitterSweet Designs Patterns / By Melissa Dunworth

Many of you may be familiar with my quilt block pattern, Stacked Pyramids.

It is a fun and versatile block. Back in November, I was the quilter for Do. Good Stitches and I sent everyone in my circle a free copy of my pattern and asked them to please create two blocks using aqua, raspberry and Kona Ash for the background. Can I just say that these ladies sure do know how to deliver!

I have to admit that I love this quilt and it will be hard to let go of, but I am so glad that it will go to a foster child in need of some love and comfort.

I couldn’t resist a full shot outside. With no on here to help me, I took my design wall out and put it right up against my garage. Welcome to my home!

If you were on the fence about how this pattern might look all sewn together into a quilt, now you know!

Have a very happy Wednesday!

Product Review – Orbital Rotary Cutter Blade Sharpener

7 Comments / product review / By Melissa Dunworth

(Preface: I was provided with a product sample for this review, the thoughts and opinions expressed in this post belong solely to me. I was not given any other compensation for this post.)

The USA Sharpeners company approached me back in November and asked if I would be interested in doing a product review of their Orbital Rotary Cutter Blade Sharpener. Given the number of blades that I go through in a year and the cost ($35.00 per five pack), I agreed to do the review. As with any company, I informed them that I could only endorse a product I fully believed in and I have to say I do believe in this product.

Things I Noticed:

This product comes with two different blade size options, 45mm and 60mm. Both are common sizes used by quilters. I personally own multiple 45mm rotary cutters.
Comes with detailed instructions on the packaging, and the company kindly sent me a troubleshooting guide as well – I ended up needing the troubleshooting guide (more on that later).
This product comes with oil, it is essential to use when sharpening your blades, you do not damage them.
Outstanding customer service – I struggled with this product at first and was able to talk at length with them on the phone as well as exchanging multiple emails. Between their assistance and my dad’s I was able to troubleshoot my issue (more on that later).
Made in the USA! How often are products made locally? This company is out of Vancouver, WA and I do love supporting local companies and products.

Recommendations:

It is absolutely vital that you put something under the sharpener while you are working in your sewing area. If you spill the oil it will not be easy to clean off your cutting mat. Protect your work surface!
Make sure you have some fabric you don’t care about on hand to test your blade to make sure it is sharp and ready to go after running it through the sharpener.
Finding the right pressure is the key to getting this product to work. My issue was that the directions said don’t put too much pressure on the blade because that could dull the blade, so instead of putting too much, I didn’t put enough. Sort of had the same results – dulling the blade. Once my dad was able to figure out what the heck I was doing wrong, I was able to properly use it!
Make sure you take the time to read through the Troubleshooting Guide if you are having problems. I was super skeptical at first but wanted to really give this product a fair try and figuring out it was complete user error made me very happy.
When in doubt, call them! Their customer service is outstanding and they will walk you through using the product properly and give you additional tips and tricks.

There are no improvements I would offer on this product, only a recommendation on their packaging to protect the work surface from the oil. We don’t want oil spots on our precious fabrics!

Have you ever used a blade sharpener before? This is the second product I have used and I am fairly happy with it now that I am past the learning curve, and who doesn’t love a locally made product?

Have a happy Monday!

A Lovely Year of Finishes – January Finishes

9 Comments / A Lovely Year of Finishes, Charity, Fiber of All Sorts / By Melissa Dunworth

Is it just me or was January a bit horrendous? I came home to a disaster in my house and have been grappling with it ever since. The good news is that amidst the chaos, I managed to be fairly productive. I pieced 4 quilt tops, quilted and bound 4 quits. Here is the last one fresh off the machine.

I still have threads to bury on all four, but I am supremely happy with my finish. These quilts will be raffled off at Anne’s preschool to benefit their scholarship fund.

I have already sewn two more charity blocks for my circle of Do. Good Stitches and picked out fabric for my Patchwork City sampler quilt that I will be making with my guild. Look for more info on that later next week.

What about you? How did you do this month?

What one item did you choose?

You have two requirements to be entered into the prizes this month.

1. Link-up {on this post} the first 7-days of the month

Please choose ONE project

and

2. Link-up in the last 7-days of the month

Only with a completed, successful project. And yes the same one that you choose earlier in the month.

Add your blog post or flickr photo (with appropriate descriptions) to the linky party below.

Please grab a button or link back to Shanna and I so other people can join in the fun!

And if you are on twitter or Instagram tag #ALYoF

**Please note, the linky party is the same here and over at Shanna , so there is no need to enter twice **

Here is a list of the lovely new and old sponsors and prizes for January:

1. PDF Pattern from Katy – The Littlest Thistle

2. Green Fairy Quilts – 3 pdf patterns

3. Sew BitterSweet Designs one pdf pattern

4. One pdf Pattern from Clover and Violet

5. PDF Pattern from Persimon Dreams

6. $15 gift certificate from Fat Quarter Shop

7. One Charm pack or $10.00 gift certificate to
Stitches n’ Giggles (winners choice)

8. One PDF Pattern from Meadow Mist Designs

9. One PDF pattern from Sew Sweetness

10. One PDF pattern from Honey, Bunny, and Doll Designs

11. Thimblepie’s Quilt Supplies – Custom fabric package, 3 yards plus free shipping anywhere

~~~

Thank you to everyone for jumping on board with us for the first time or again.

Remember to click on a few others links and give people some love.

And don’t forget! You have until January 31st to link up your finish!

~~~~

Author name: Melissa Dunworth